SAN JOSE – The Sharks’ main practice session was over but winger Kasper Halttunen stayed on the ice for some extra instruction, doing drills with three former NHL players-turned-coaches on the second day of the Sharks development camp.
Several minutes after he left the ice, Halttunen, selected by the Sharks in the second round of the NHL Draft last week, still couldn’t quite believe one of those coaches was the league’s all-time leader in games played, Patrick Marleau.
“When I was a kid, I watched him play on TV,” the 18-year-old Halttunen said of Marleau on Wednesday at Sharks Ice. “Of course, he is one of the biggest icons who has ever played this game. It was kind of a dream come true to work with him. It was awesome.”
Marleau was back on that familiar sheet of ice this week, the one he practiced on for over 20 years as he became the Sharks’ all-time leader in games played, goals, and points. But instead of wearing shoulder pads, Marleau, now 43, was wearing a black tracksuit and a teal cap as he began the next chapter of his hockey life.
Marleau, more than a year after his retirement, officially returned to the Sharks organization last month as a development coach and hockey operations advisor. Although some details still need to be worked out in terms of how he’ll work with the front office, Marleau doesn’t look totally out of place skating with the Sharks’ top prospects, most of whom are half his age or younger.
“It’s a pretty cool experience having one of the NHL greats on the ice,” said 6-foot-2, 200-pound forward Quentin Musty, who turned 18 on Thursday and was one of the Sharks’ first-round selections last week. “I see a lot of myself in his game, just with his size and skill. But just trying to listen to things he’s teaching me and just trying to be that player that can one day play for this organization.”
“It’s fun,” Marleau said. “It’s a lot of new faces, a lot of new kids. It’s fun to get to know them and work with them on the ice, maybe give them a pointer here and there and then they can use it.”
Marleau also served as an assistant of sorts at last year’s development camp, although more in an unofficial capacity.
Mike Grier, shortly after he was hired as San Jose’s general manager, reached out to the then-recently retired Marleau, who had moved with his wife Christina and their kids to further son Landon’s hockey career. Grier asked Marleau if he would come back to San Jose, get on the ice with the prospects, and impart some of the wisdom he accumulated over a 23-year NHL career.
At that point, Marleau was about 14 months removed from his 1,779th and final NHL game on May 12, 2021, and the following year was a difficult one. Having played the sport since he was a young boy in Aneroid, Saskatchewan, he now found himself on the outside looking in, with his services no longer needed by NHL teams.
Marleau officially announced his retirement on May 10, 2022.
Over a year later, it’s easy to tell that Marleau’s competitive fire still burns. Asked if he would sign a professional tryout with the Sharks, who suddenly need a fourth-line center — if that hypothetical conversation with Grier were to arise — Marleau didn’t completely rule it out.
“That would have to be a discussion but yeah, I’d have to get in a lot better shape than what I am now,” Marleau said with a laugh, adding that he’s “not in NHL shape. Not right now, anyway.”
Still, re-joining the Sharks organization on a full-time basis, after speaking with Grier and team president Jonathan Becher about the new role, figures to help with that transition away from playing.
“It’ll definitely help to be around and busy and helping other people, and keep your mind off of things,” Marleau said. “Just being able to get back has felt good.”
Grier started to grow the Sharks’ player development department from the first month he was hired by the Sharks. Marleau now joins Mike Ricci, Tommy Wingels, and Luca Sbisa as coaches working under Todd Marchant, the Sharks’ director of player development. Marleau said they’re still sorting out how and where he’ll spend the bulk of his time.
“It’ll be good for him,” Grier said last week of having Marleau at development camp. “Patty’s excited and I’m excited to have Patty out there. I think it’s great for the prospects to be able to have someone like him out there, to pick his brain and get some tips and pointers. I know he really enjoyed being on the ice last year. It was maybe only a day and a half or so, and I think he really enjoyed it.
“To have him out here for the whole camp is pretty big for us.”
Marleau was at the draft last week as he got a taste of that process from an organizational standpoint. Twenty-six years after taking Marleau second overall, the Sharks chose Will Smith at No. 4.
“It’s been fun to watch him in person, not just on video or anything like that,” Marleau said of Smith. “He stands out for sure. He’s just so good with the puck.”
It’s likely nothing will completely replace playing in an NHL game for Marleau. But the new role seems to come naturally, too.
“Yeah, that’s the tough part,” Marleau said not being able to play. “But it’s still fun to get out there and pass on some knowledge to the younger generation here and hopefully they can use it to their advantage.”
“(Seeing him) hop into some of the drills was pretty cool,” Musty said. “He’s still got it.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com